Re: cli options

On Thursday 29 January 2004 09:48 am, Daniel C. von Asmuth wrote:
> > No matter how loud the geeks are yelling at me, Linux *does* need some
> > standards.
> > (And more GUIs :) )
>
> For superstitious reasons one would suppose twelve window managers would be
> enough to satisfy most users.

   I think this meant "And more GUI _wrappers_".  I.E. a GUI for normal 
command-line utils like 'fdisk' - etc.  [This is to _hide_ the issues behind 
command-line utilities having various swtich standards, like has been 
discussed with the -o <option list>, -<option>.]
   Some users are "GUI or nothing" because it's "easy".  Others believe it's 
"command-line or nothing" because "I have to have a way of fixing things if 
the GUI doesn't work."  Most users are "I just want it to work - why isn't 
this easy?"

> So I hear 'Linux needs standards' and 'Linux needs GUIs', now how about
> standardising the GUI? (Credit for this insight goes to my sister, who
> wanted to know, given that there lots of different applications for the
> same purpose, why should the user interfaces all be wildly different, even
> for different versions of the same Operating System). Applications are far
> less standardised than command syntax.

   As a programmer I would not be able to take the description above and know 
how to fix my program; more specific information is needed to do so.
   But: most programs for KDE and Gnome are getting to be standardized in the 
ways that I believe you are discussing, and those are two of the more popular 
window managers.
   "Stanardizing the GUI" is a complaint most often made by users switching 
from Windows, where there is no such a thing as choice of GUIs, and where 
applications are so tightly integrated that the software manufacturer has to 
be sued into allowing competitors - with different GUIs - to allow to have a 
chance to get to market before they're squashed.  This has left many with the 
feeling that GUIs should be uniform, when in fact that in itself [the 
back-end programming of it] is part of the problem.
   The "standard GUI" monoculture would perhaps appeal to the masses, but it 
does not appeal to me, where I get to see a creator's program the way that he 
envisioned it instead of the appearance mandated by some standards comittee.

   So - what you're saying is true.  You can either choose to change what you 
can (I.E. yourself - and try to become more flexible) or you can contact the 
individual programmer teams that work on the GUIs that you wish to be more 
standardized and see if you can impress your opinion onto them.
   The third option - to just vent about it - will ease your frustration but 
effect no change.

	- Chris

-- 
Chris Knadle
Chris.Knadle-15hjz6xD4c1Wk0Htik3J/[email protected]